The World According to Mitch Fanning

Here’s a recent presentation I did with fellow Social Media Club Niagara colleague, Robin McPherson, titled “How Twitter Changed Our Lives and What This Means For Your Business“.

Topics included:

- Top Twitter Strategies
- Best Practices (with examples)
- Tools and tips to increase @replies, RT, and click-throughs, and followers
- Tons of research, metrics, and resources on Twitter.

It pulls from real case studies, including our own experience. To advance slides on the presentation, just hover the mouse over the right-hand side of the displayed slide and click.  Also, if you weren’t able to attend our the meeting in September, here is the video (see below).

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, a professional member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands – to B2B companies – to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: Robin McPherson

Approx. reading time: 2-3 min

Originally posted on the Fruition Interactive Blog.

Fact: Every business must generate qualified leads that, ultimately, convert into sales.

I know this because the topic always comes up in conversation with clients. That’s why we’re always improving our ability to help clients generate leads via our online marketing services.

For example, a Google Certified AdWords Professional (on our team) manages the AdWords campaigns we run for clients. We do this, not only because it’s a recognized stamp of approval from Google, but mainly because the individual who is certified is an expert. She’s an Adwords ninja. When it comes to increasing traffic and click-though rates, she’s one of the best.

Unfortunately, having a Google Adwords ninja on your side is not always enough. The problem is, too many clients want to focus on just the traffic generation side, and overlook the conversion side.

In other words, they aren’t willing to go the extra mile to optimize their website or landing page for lead conversion.

The conversion issue, however, can often be an easy one to solve. In some cases, paying attention to the following areas might be all that is required to increase conversion (in addition to plenty of split A/B testing).

Are you credible?

Everything on your web site must foster rapport, trust, and credibility. Real contact information, real photographs, and FAQs that answer real questions. Small detail matters, even things like hosting your site on your own domain and how frequently you update your site. People do business with those they like and trust. Include details that make you an interesting and authoritative source, but most important, make sure you come across as credible.

Convincing copy that inspires action

If you want leads that convert into business, it comes down to copywriting. Practically everything you do online comes back to this core skill. Without the ability to convince people to act, you come up short in most online marketing strategies – including Google Adwords campaigns.

Many people know how to write technically, but they don’t have the copywriting skill to generate conversions. And if you’re missing this one practical skill, nothing else you do online works. That means you risk ending up on the online marketing merry-go-round, spending thousands on traffic generation and not seeing a single conversion. Without good copywriting, everything’s harder, takes longer, or doesn’t work at all.

Bullet proof your call to action

Make sure you’ve clearly told visitors exactly what to do. On the other hand, are you asking your prospect to make too many choices? Confused people don’t act. You should have at most two or three options to choose from. Also, don’t be afraid to repeat yourself on several or all pages. Prospects often don’t read every word of your website. Find creative ways to restate your call to action and the most important benefits.

Have your own favorite conversion strategy that you didn’t see here? Let me know about it in the comments.

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, a professional member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

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Photo credit: SESConferenceSeries

This is part 3 of a series, which outlines some of the systems, principles, and tools I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune my routines to increase productivity and results.

In part one, I talked about the Entrepreneurial Time System (via The Strategic Coach). In part two, I discussed the One Goal System as well as the mind-map tool MindNode. Today, I’m going to end the series with some of the principles and tools I use to determine what tasks get done.

Being Effective vs. Being Efficient

What you do is more important than how you do it.

Being effective means doing things that get you closer to your goals. Being efficient is performing a task (whether or not it gets you closer to your goals) in the most economical manner possible. Being efficient is important, but only when applied to the right things. Over the years, this has been my biggest obstacle, but it’s really the key to achieving ‘rock star’ results. To find the right things consider the following.

Think 80/20

In 1999, after reading The 80/20 Principle (affiliate) by Richard Koch, I did my own 80/20 Analysis in the hopes of increasing personal productivity. After my first attempt, I concluded most people (including yours truly) aren’t natural analysts. Even if they are, you can’t always stop to investigate the “data” every time you need to make a decision.

My solution? Just “think 80/20” by asking: “What 20 percent leads to 80 percent.” Like 80/20 Analysis, we always assume there is a possible imbalance between inputs and outputs, but instead of looking at data, we simply guess.

Funny enough, these few outputs (the 20 percent) usually are the same things we excel at and are passionate about. It’s what people complement you on. For example, having meaningful conversations with business people and writing about online marketing and business is my “20 percent”. All of my tasks flow through these two focus areas. The rest I try to eliminate or delegate.

Incidentally, I try and do most of my 80/20 Thinking on Buffer Days. However, most of my “20 percent” or focus activities get done on Focus Days.

Applying Limitations

Twitter enables its users to send tweets, which are text-based posts limited to 140 characters. What if everything you did had limitations. Have too many goals? Limit them to one. Have too many projects? Limit them to three. Have too many emails to respond to? Limit your email responses to five sentences. You get the idea.

Not only do I put limits on activities I engage in, I also put time limits or deadlines on all work-related activities. When you apply a limitation you force choice, which improves your effectiveness. As a result, your productivity (outputs and results) increases naturally over time. What should you set limits on? Anything you want. However, keep in mind, when you first set a limit on something, It’ll be a fairly arbitrary number. It takes time to see what works for you.

Single Tasking

Multi-tasking is a joke.

For those of you who think you’re a ninja at multi-tasking it just means you have no focus. Sure, you can multi-task at the project level (work on more than one project at a time), but not at the task level. Once you’ve determined what you’re tasks are, on any given day, work on one task at a time until completion.

Index Cards (Tool)

The most effective productivity tool I use costs less than a cup of coffee. Every evening (or morning), I select the 2 or 3 tasks that will move me closer to achieving my one big goal, sub-goal, and weekly goals (with short and clear deadlines) and put them on a 3 x 5 index card. I try and achieve at least 1 or 2 by 12 Noon. Why an index card? First, due to the limited amount of space, it forces you to write only the really important stuff. Second, it fits nicely into my pocket.

Improving Your Game

It’s my hope that by applying some of the ideas I’ve outlined it will help you establish and fine-tune your routines in an effort to become more productive. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules. What works for me may not work for you. I’m not a productivity guru. I’m just a guy trying to improve his game.

Good luck with yours!

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: dimnikolov

This is part two of a series, which outlines the systems, principles, strategies, and tools I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune my routines to increase results and productivity.

In part one, I discussed the Entrepreneurial Time System (via The Strategic Coach). Now that you have a framework to work with, you can start creating and fine-tuning your routines.  However, before you can fix routines and habits you need a focal point – something to work towards. In part two, I outline some principles and tools I use to decide what to focus on.

System Reset

I’ve been setting goals since I was 16 years old.  However, up until recently, my goals were mostly financial or based on something I was driven to do.  I also ended up taking on too many goals at once, which spread out my energy and focus and motivation.

One Goal

A few years ago, I found a solution.  I started using the One Goal System after reading The Power Of Less (affiliate) by Leo Babauta.  Simply put, you focus on one big goal (at a time).  My deadline to achieving my one big goal is usually six months.  Any longer, I lose focus and enthusiasm.  Any shorter, it’s not worth my efforts.  Incidentally, I do my goal setting on Buffer Days.

Bucket Thinking (focus areas)

With one goal in mind, you then create “buckets” or “focus areas” as filters for determining what projects and/or tasks to focus on.  Any additional work that comes in is pushed through these filters.

In my case, my buckets or focus areas are:

1. Online Marketing (Fruition Interactive)
2. Online Publishing (blogging, writing, etc.)
3. New Media Education (Social Media Club Niagara)
4. Buffer (planning, clean-ups, new skills)

Incidentally, the first three “buckets” are areas I work on during Focus Days with the exception of the “Buffer bucket” (always have a bucket for the stuff that has to get done, but isn’t directly related to producing results).

Three Projects

Using these buckets, you now have a way to separate what project and/or tasks to work on.  As a rule, I never have more than three projects going at one time.  I define “project” as anything that takes a day or more to complete.  If you can do it in a few hours, you can add it to your list, but a project is typically something that takes several tasks to complete.

Mind-Maps (Tool)

I use mind-maps to keep track of project lists. I love mind-maps, because I can break out my thoughts by priority in a non-linear way.  I use MindNode on my Mac, but there are tons of such apps, so pick one you like.

Staying on Target

To ensure you stick with a routine, first establish your one big goal – something you’re passionate about.  From there, use a tool like mind-mapping to pick your top 3 projects and weekly priorities.

Stay tuned for part three.

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: flattop341

Fall is upon us.

Entrepreneurial Time System is a trademark of the Strategic Coach Inc.

For kids, it’s back-to-school.  For the rest of us, it’s a time to get back to work and settle into a routine.  Some of my most rewarding achievements have come from establishing routines in an effort to become more productive.

Perhaps it’s a result of being a former college athlete, but over the years, I’ve used many of the same routines and rituals I once used in sports – in business.  For example, I split up my week into game days and practice days.

What follows is part one of a series, outlining the time system I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune both my weekly and daily routines.  In part two, I’ll discuss the principles behind my routines along with the tools and how I put them into practice.  Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules.  What works for me may not work for you.

The Entrepreneurial Time System (via the Strategic Coach)

I was introduced to The Entrepreneurial Time System (created by Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith) in 2000 (as a member of the Strategic Coach).  The system has given me a simple framework for developing effective weekly and daily routines. The system calls for dividing your days into three distinct types – Free Days, Focus Days, and Buffer Days.

Free Days

A Free Day is a 24-hour period, in which I don’t engage in any business-related activities.  In my experience, to perform at your peak during your game days you must be rejuvenated.  When you run out of energy, you don’t have the creativity to seize opportunities.  You also become boring, having only one thing to talk about: work.

Sundays are my default Free Day.  During my free days, I spend time with family, close friends, watch movies, and read.

Focus Days

A Focus Day is a 24-hour period, in which I spend 80 percent of my time on the activities that create results.  These are my game days.  On Focus Days, you concentrate on your most important business-related activities, relationships, and opportunities.   What should you do on your Focus Days?  Think about what you do personally that makes the greatest contribution to your company’s bottom line.  Imagine how productive you could be if you could spend a day attending to just these tasks, without interruption, and with full preparation and support.

My focus day activities involve having meaningful conversations with clients about their business and writing (strategy documents, proposals, contracts, emails related to income generation, blog posts, online media).  Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are my Focus Days.

Buffer Days

If Focus Days are game days, Buffer Days are my practice or rehearsal days.  On Buffer Days, I handle all of the details that would otherwise distract my attention on a Focus Day.  I use these days to catch up, clean up messes, delegate, do research, and learn new skills.  Most importantly, I use them to do the necessary planning that will ensure that nothing intrudes on my Free Days & Focus Days.

Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are my Buffer Days.

Putting into Practice

This system might seem complicated, but in action, it’s fairly simple and straightforward.  Over the next 90 days, put these concepts to work and watch both your level of rejuvenation and overall productivity sky-rocket.

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands including NBC.com to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100.  Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: Strategic Coach